5D vs. OM-D

I just recently acquired my first MFT camera, the OM-D E-M5 After a lot of valuable advice here regarding my lens choice and going back and forth a few times, I eventually decided to get a 25mm f/.95 Voigtlander as one of my choices. I happen to have a 5D classic sitting on my shelf for the time being. I thought it would be fun to take a couple narrow DOF snapshots in the backyard to see how the camera's compared. This isn't a scientific tests or even technical in any sort of manner. I didn't even have a tripod so the shots are not exactly the same. I also lightly edited and cropped (to 3:2) a few of these to my liking (no heavy photoshoping though). It's just a fun comparison. The lens on the 5D is a Sigma 50mm F/1.4 (I used it at both f/1.4 and f/1.8).

5D:

and non-cropped jpg from the OM-D:

5D:

Cropped OM-D:

5D:

And OM-D (cropped again)

Didn't get the angle quite right here as looking at it now, I'd like to see the white pedals against the sky like in the 5D version. I actually brought down the exposure a bit here in Adobe Camera Raw as the those delicate white pedals were on the verge of blowing out. The voigtlander has a tendency to ghost/haze a bit on these highlights, which I found to be true here when I looked at the petals closely.

So what is the point you may ask? I thought it would be fun to do a couple of quick and dirty comparisons. I wanted a feel for how MFT would compare against Full-frame with shallow DOF. The OM-D held up really well. I was impressed with the character of the Voigtlander 25mm f/.95 as well.

I've heard the SLR Magic 25mm that's coming will have less ghosting but honestly, I've used a lot of manual/classic lenses in the past and I'm not as bothered by the soft glow as some people are. I think it can lend a certain character.

The 5D classic is an older sensor and probably not considered to be modern by some people's standards possibly. I don't have a 5D MIII handy or I'd compare that.

I have to admit in the past I never considered MFT as I thought the limitation of that smaller sensor was just too much to overcome. Over time I've decided the format has matured and the smaller sensor is not such a road block. With this quick test, I feel pretty good about my OM-D. I feel the shallow DOF with this lens is sufficient for isolating a subject and has a nice creative/artsy feel to it as well. In summary, I am happy with my purchase and entry into the M4/3's system of photography.

In closing, here's one more SOOC shot from the Voigtlander 25mm/.95 with the OM-D that I think demonstrates some nice bokeh (very high ISO as well)!

Thanks for sharing your quick comparison. One question is how much are the second and third shots cropped? When comparing FF to a crop sensor camera with shallow DOF IN MIND, it hardly seems fair to crop the smaller sensor's image even further.

Also, were you in the same location when you took the second sert of images (against the house) the OMD shot looks like it may be more perpendicular to the wall, increasing the amount of the wall that is in focus.